The Alchemist's Son
by Cassidy S. Waters
Summary: A hundred and twenty-four years after Ed and Al's closing of the Gate, their descendants Nicholas King and Andrew Grayson attempt to once again do the ultimate taboo—create a human being. But behind the curtains of success dwells a sinister plot reopening of the Gate. And it certainly doesn't help that their creation, Darwin, is just like Envy...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. This original story idea was inspired by The Maine Coon Cat with the story In A Crumbling World. This story is based off the same idea.**

**Summary****: A hundred and twenty-four years after Ed and Al's closing of the Gate, their descendants Nicholas King and Andrew Grayson attempted to once again do the ultimate alchemy taboo—creating a human being. A super human that could change the very fate of Earth and all its inhabitants. A being that possessed superior strength, skill, talent, speed, health. Funded by the US government, the two young men and a band of hand-picked scientists create an awe-inspiring discovery, and the world witnesses the birth of the super-human. A creature that will soon bear the entire fate of the world on his shoulders . . .**

**But behind the curtains of success dwells a sinister plot of death, destruction, and the reopening of the Gate. The very thing that Nick and Andy worked so hard to create is discovered to have the power to either destroy the world or save it. And it certainly doesn't make things better when that very being just happens to be Earth's parallel to another force, the Homunculus Envy . . .**

**The Alchemist's Son**

***Chapter 1: Coma***

Nicholas King had a nervous habit of chewing his nails when he was frustrated or impatient. Gnawing on his virtually, non-existent nails, Nick read the latest report of the condition of the project.

_Always the same_, he thought, biting on his forefinger intently. '_Status has not changed. Remains inactive.' Blah, blah, blah. He's got have done _something_ in the past twenty-four hours at least. _But, of course, with technology today, hardly was there a blunder made by a machine.

Sighing in frustration, Nick slapped the paper down and stretched in his chair, reaching his arms out into space as he released the growing tension that was building up in him in the last few days.

His fifth cousin, Andrew Grayson, though he preferred to be called Andy, walked into the small, stuff office, carrying a tray containing two mugs of steaming tea. "Stretching doesn't make you taller, ya know," Andy stated, pausing besides Nick before the latter harmlessly swung out his fist at the former. Andy merely took a step back, though it wouldn't have mattered either way. Sitting up, Nick glared at Andy, a look of lethal demise glowering in his eyes. "I do know where you sleep, ya know?"

Andy grinned mischievously. "Yes, you do. But you also lack the guts to do anything."

Nick began to twirl a lock of thick blonde hair with a finger. "You are an expendable resource."

"You can be charged with murder," Andy pointed out. Nick snuffed, but beaming, he stood and bumped fists with his cousin.

"You're always an interest to talk to, bro," Nick laughed, patting the younger man's shoulder. Andy just grinned in return before holding out the tray. "Tea? It's warm."

"I could do for more iced tea than hot tea." Andy watched Nick sit back down, staring dully at some paperwork that needed to be read and signed.

Since early childhood, Andy and Nick had been the best of friends. Sure, they didn't agree a lot, and most of the time they got into fights, but they stuck together like glue, through and through the messiness of life and its downfalls. Both appeared similar in features, possessing the golden amber eyes and light hair color, many who would meet them would think without a doubt they were brothers. In many ways that was true. So often Nick and Andy thought of each other as siblings more than cousins or distant relatives. They had done everything together, from kindergarten to high school and even through college, the two were inseparable.

Nick waved the report he had been looking at before Andy's arrival. "Know what this is?" he asked him.

Andy arched an eyebrow while eyeing the paper curiously. "What?"

Nick pulled the paper back and skimmed the lettering on the page. "Status of our boy."

"How's he doing?"

Nick waved the page around carelessly, leaning back in his chair as he responded, "Same old, same old. His condition hasn't altered one bit since that little movement he did last week."

Andy remembered that. "Oh yeah. Man, that gave the doc one heck of a scare."

"All for a little twitch on his finger." Nick waved one pointer finger to demonstrate the movement. Andy grasped Nick's hand to stop him. "You know the doc is just worried that he'll die like all the others."

"Yeah, yeah, don't guilt me." Nick ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm just tired of waiting for him to wake up. The sooner, the better, that's my opinion."

"Well, Mother Nature has her own opinion," Andy said. "And I think hers beats yours by a thousand points over."

Nick chuckled. "What we are trying to create is far from natural."

Andy frowned. "Just think if Great-aunt Wilma heard what we were doing."

Nick agreed. "She'd flip."

Taking one of the mugs from the tray, Andy cradled it in his palm before sipping from it with the edge of his lips. The warm liquid ran down his throat gently, and Andy found himself lost once more to the infinite flow of thoughts. Nick had to stretch his arm out and snap his fingers twice before Andy returned to reality, jerking with a startle before shaking his head out of the confusion. "Oh, sorry. Lost myself again."

"You really need to stop doing that."

"I can't help it. Great-great Granddad's stories just keeping flooding into my mind."

"They're just that, though. Stories a couple of old geezers made to pass the time."

"But they actually believed in it."

"They were also around a hundred years old."

"But even before that, they believed."

Nick didn't argue with his distant cousin anymore. Just like all descendants of Elrics, Nick and Andy had grown up hearing the wonderful tales of their ancestors Edward and Alphonse Elric and their adventures in the alchemic world of Amestris. But as Nick got older, like all other family members did, he began to disregard the tales as nothing more than stories, invented to teach children life lessons and share a laugh or two. But Andy had remained faithful, often fantasizing about what the world of Amestris was like today. He would dream of himself being a State Alchemist like Edward, helping the civilians and protecting his country from evil creatures and sinister beings. That's why Andy had thrown himself so full-heartedly into the project that was before them, while his cousin had a more self-centered reason, powered by the overbearing desire to discover and learn.

Andy, still holding the mug, picked up the tray with the remaining cup and turned to leave. "Well, anyway, I'm going to see in person how our subject is doing. Care to join me?"

Nick grinned, getting up once more from his chair and departing with his cousin out of the stuffy office. "Anything to get me away from paperwork."

Together, the two navigated their way through the maze of a laboratory facility, finally managing to slip into one of the larger rooms hosted by the laboratory. The room was circular, with a single wide, cylinder shaped tube reaching from the ceiling to the floor set in the center of the room. Computer screens and projected holograms of diagrams and on-rushing data littered the walls from top to bottom, tinting the room in a slight greenish hue.

It was only when the two young men entered the room did they notice the tall, wide-shoulder build form of an older man, with long blonde hair and small wired-frame glasses currently plucked off his nose and held to one side as the man stared into the cylinder.

Nick, not wanting to be rude, cleared his throat softly. The man turned, taking notice of him and Andy for the first time. He smiled kindly at them, a genuine kind of expression that was rarely expressed on the staff unless given a great stir of excitement. "Ah, Nicholas, Andrew. Come here. Take a look at our work."

Nick and Andy concurred, and together the three blonde haired men stared at the see-through glass with a mixed sense of awe, fascination, and excitement. Finally, the man spoke, his soft, low voice rumbling from deep within his throat. "Isn't he magnificent?"

Both young men nodded, not daring to break the peaceful serenity. Floating inside the amber colored liquid was the fruit of their labor and years of dreaming and planning. An artificial human. A humanoid, number R-03479, or more fondly called by the staff, "Darwin."

This being was the entire reason why the United States had poured its resources, its scientists, and its money into. The creation of a super human, a being capable of functioning like a human and capable of much, much more. Superior strength and intelligence it would possess, and wisdom beyond human understanding, this was the next step up the evolutionary level. That's why it—no, he, was given the name Darwin. He was the next step on the evolutionary ladder for mankind. First ape, then man, then superman.

"It's a shame, though, Dr. Harland," Andy grieved, sensing the doctor's slight disappointment, "that the other researchers had to change his physical appearance."

"Outer appearances matters not in the world of science," Harland dismissed with a wave, though neither young men could miss the dismay in his tone. "It was done in the name of science, so it must be."

"He looked a lot like Sirius," Nick stated kindly, trying to cheer the good doctor. Harland merely smiled and waved his hand again. "He certainly did. Looked just like him. Down to the smallest strand of hair."

Sirius was Dr. Harland's deceased son. Though he never stated how, Harland often hinted that his son went down fighting, though against what he never shared. "He was a brave boy," Harland had said once. "He stared Death in the face and spat it in the eye." Because of the due complexity of the experiment, the good doctor had offered to use his son's DNA as the base for the structure of the artificial human. However, the muscular blond had created some controversy amongst the scientists, until they came to a vote to splice some cells to recreate Darwin's physical appearance during the early stages of development. So instead of the rugged, fine-toned, blonde haired young man Sirius was, Darwin was lean, androgynous, with long, smooth, midnight black hair and pale skin, fine-trimmed muscles hidden under the slender appearance.

Nick felt a deep edge of pity swell in his stomach. Dr. Harland seemed like such a gentle, hard-working man. It pained him and his cousin to see their superior, their colleague, in such pain. But Dr. Harland had endured, saying Darwin was the ship that carried all of their dreams of success, including his. Though neither young man knew what he quite meant by that, they hoped and prayed it worked.

Dr. Harland turned away from the cylinder, slowly approaching the door and exiting the room. "Mind keeping an eye on him while I'm gone?" he asked before departing.

"Sure," both Nick and Andy said in unison. Dr. Harland then took his leave, and the two young men were left in the room with Darwin. Nick turned to face Darwin, and, gently stroking the glass with his fingers, he whispered, "It's all up to you now, kiddo. You're a ray of hope."

Nick's thoughts were interrupted by the rapid clicking of heels. The door to the circular room slide open, and in walked an unusually dressed scientist, wearing only a sweater, jeans, high heels, and a lab coat. Her short-cut, honey brown hair stuck out in many different directions, and her pale lips were set in a stern frown. "We've got some trouble down in Lab 6," she said, holding up a clipboard. "Any clue where Dr. Harland might be?"

"He just left, Dr. Williams," Andy stated.

"Do you know where he was going?"

"Haven't the foggiest."

Dr. Williams sighed, ruffling her already messed-up hair and groaned loudly. "Great. Just when you need that lazy oaf, he runs off and disappears." Dr. Williams didn't mean that, though. She knew how proactive Dr. Harland was; she just loved to tease people.

"Maybe he's down in Lab 12. You know he likes to be on tabs with everyone's activities."

Dr. Williams nodded. "Right. Yeah, good call." She turned, exiting the room quickly, the echoing of her clicking heels fading gradually.

Nick scratched his head. "Wonder what that was about?"

Andy shrugged. "Who knows? With Dr. Williams, you can never tell what goes through that woman's head."

Nick chuckled loudly. "Ha ha, good one, bro."

The room grew quiet as both men got to work, traveling to the far edges of the room to examine the data of Darwin's progress flying across the screens. Andy turned from one screen to another, occasionally touch-screening when he heard a small noise. He paused. He listened.

**Beep-Beep.**

That was the heart monitor. Turning to where that screen was, Andy noticed the waves were gradually intensifying.

**Beep-beep.**

Andy may not have been a heart expert, but he knew in a coma, the heart rate monitor beeped in a rhythmic, one tone beat.

**Beep-beep.**

The conscious person's heart didn't. It beeped twice.

**Beep-beep.**

"Uh, Nick," Andy began uncertainly, not sure what was truly going on. He turned to look at his cousin, who stood on the other side of the room.

**Beep-beep.**

Nick turned, hearing Andy call him. When he looked directly at Andy's golden eyes, he realized they were wide with uncertainty.

That's when they saw Darwin move.

It was a quick movement. Just a twitch. Both men look at each other with alarm. What was going on? Was Darwin waking from his comatose? This thought was confirmed even further when Darwin jerked, as if he was forcing himself out of sleep mode.

Nick's fingers flew, clicking rapidly on buttons and touch screens. Andy did the same, though at a much slower pace as he kept looking back at Darwin. Darwin jerked again, this time much more violently.

The heart monitor starting going crazy. The beeping became irregular, and red lights began to flash in the lab. Andy began to panic.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no_, he thought desperately, fearing for the worst. The experiment was dying. This wasn't the first time it had happened, though. There had been a total of three hundred cells, half of the colony dying in a matter of days before any real development occurred. Later, a third of the embryos deteriorated. Soon, one by one the humanoids had died off until only Darwin was left. Now it looked like he was going to join his brothers in the grave. More shaking, violent jerks continued, and the heart rate monitor blasted a frenzy of beeps.

"He's dying!" Andy screamed, panicked. Nick grinded his teeth stubbornly. "Calm down! We can do this!"

Nick clicked one more key before the fluid was drained out of the tube, leaving only a shaking, naked form of a teenage male inside. Nick and Andy rushed over to the glass, typing in the code to lift the glass up. Darwin gave one more jerk before he was still, not even his chest rising and falling.

Andy's mouth dropped open. No . . . No, this couldn't happen. It was too quick . . . too sudden. A sudden feeling of despair and failure filled his heart. Dr. Harland, all his work, it was now died. Cold and lifeless.

Nick bared his teeth angrily, hating himself for not reacting faster. He felt the burden of not being able to save Darwin from this fate, but before he could admit defeat, he ground his teeth and said aloud, "No . . ."

Andy looked up, almost at the verge of tears. "Huh?" he said.

Nick completed the code, causing the glass to rise, now exposing Darwin to the outside. "I won't let you die," Nick repeated, reaching in and grabbing hold of one of Darwin's slender shoulders.

Andy just squatted there, looking like a fool with his eyes as wide as dinner plates and his mouth left agape. "What are you talking about?" he asked, desperate to understand what Nick was talking about. But Nick didn't answer. He pulled Darwin completely out of the cylinder and settled him down on the cold floor. He leaned over his motionless chest, listening closely for a heart beat. At first nothing. But as Nick debating over doing CPR, Darwin's pale chest slowly rose. It was like his first movement, small and slight, hardly noticeable. But then, gradually, the chest falls and rises increased and became more perceptible, traveling up and down as oxygen was taken into the lungs and carbon dioxide was forced out.

Nick saw this and, laughing in spite of himself, smiled at Andy. Andy could only watch in awe as a new life took shape, breathing slowly and peacefully, as if none of this chaos has ever happened.

"Yeah, that's it," Nick cooed, staring at Darwin with a growing sense of pride in his chest. "You're definitely like Sirius. Looked Death right in the face and spat it in the eye."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. This original story idea was created by The Maine Coon Cat with the story In A Crumbling World. This story is based off the same idea.**

**Summary****: A hundred and twenty-four years after Ed and Al's closing of the Gate, their descendants Nicholas King and Andrew Grayson attempted to once again do the ultimate alchemy taboo—creating a human being. A super human that could change the very fate of Earth and all its inhabitants. A being that possessed superior strength, skill, talent, speed, health. Funded by the US government, the two young men and a band of hand-picked scientists create an awe-inspiring discovery, and the world witnesses the birth of the super-human. A creature that will soon bear the entire fate of the world on his shoulders . . .**

**But behind the curtains of success dwells a sinister plot of death, destruction, and the reopening of the Gate. The very thing that Nick and Andy worked so hard to create is discovered to have the power to either destroy the world or save it. And it certainly doesn't make things better when that very being just happens to be Earth's parallel to another force, the Homunculus Envy . . .**

**The Alchemist's Son**

***Interlude – Thoughts***

_Who . . . am I?_

_What . . . am I?_

_Where . . . am I?_

_This . . . place . . ._

"_It's all up to you now, kiddo. You're a ray of hope."_

_It's . . . it's not the same! Was everything before just a dream?_

"_We've got some trouble down in Lab 6. Any clue where Dr. Harland might be?"_

"_He just left, Dr. Williams."_

"_Do you know where he was going?"_

"_Haven't the foggiest."_

_Those voices . . ._

"_Great. Just when you need that lazy oaf, he runs off and disappears."_

"_Maybe he's down in Lab 12. You know he likes to be on tabs with everyone's activities."_

"_Right. Yeah, good call."_

"_Wonder what that was about?"_

"_Who knows? With Dr. Williams, you can never tell what goes through that woman's head."_

"_Ha ha, good one, bro."_

_They're outside._

"_Uh, Nick."_

"_He's dying!"_

"_Calm down! We can do this!"_

_Where I must be!_

* * *

***Chapter 2: Awakening***

After the alarms had sounded, many of the scientists raced off to the cause of the problem. They all tried to squeeze into the chamber with Darwin was, and everyone breezed a sigh of relief when they saw Darwin sleeping peacefully.

Dr. Harland motioned to two scientists to take the humanoid into a sleeping chamber. As they left, he walked over to the two young men, hardly able to contain his wide beaming smile. "Well, King, Grayson. I knew it was a good idea for you two to be on my team."

"Thank you, sir," Andy said humbly while Nick boasted, "Yeah, where would you be without us?"

Harland laughed, especially after Andy gave Nick a glare. "Yes, true. Where would we be without you two?" He looked over his shoulder gravelly at the chamber Darwin had once been in. "Darwin might not have survived without you today. Thank God he made it. He was the last one…"

"Dr. Harland," Dr. Williams appeared by Harland's side and stated, "Since Darwin is out of the danger zone, how about we sent the boys home for some rest. I could use a bit of that myself." She then promptly pointed at Harland accursedly. "So could you."

Harland chuckled. "Do we all?" Clapping his hands, he called everyone's attention. After all, the birth of the first artificial human was closer and closer, and all the scientists had been blabbering like high school teenage gossipers. Once they were all looking at him, Harland announced, "To award you all for your time and effort, I shall give everyone the evening off, to relax, to sleep, or do whatever else enters your mind." Harland beamed again. "Then tomorrow, we celebrate! To move on to the next phase of the project!"

The entire room burst into cheers, and, gratefully, everyone departed from the chamber to their rooms with happy thoughts in mind.

Neither Nick nor Andy remember much of that evening. They vaguely remember trekking back to their rooms, shutting the door, and then the blanket of sleep overcame them. They had sweet dreams that night, each different and the same in their own ways. All was good.

Then morning came.

"Whaaaaaa!" Nick screamed, jerking out of bed. His foot caught under the sheets, twisting the blankets around him. He slid off the bed, slamming hard into the floor with his face. Groaning, Nick spread out his palms and pushed up. Something warm ran down his lip, and Nick licked the top to taste the bitter ting of iron.

Standing and wiping the blood from his nose, Nick sluggishly walked over to where the phone sat, blaring its wires out. He snatched the phone off the dock and spoke into the speaker. "Hello?"

"Well, well, you're finally up. Welcome back to the real world, sleeping beauty."

Nick sighed to the sound of the voice and smiled wearily. "Good to see you, too, Dr. Williams."

The said woman laughed. "So? Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did, actually. I never slept better."

"Really? Good, because your health tests came back from last week and stated you were a bit insomniac."

Nick scoffed. "Please don't lecture me like my grandma. I'm an adult and can take care of myself. I don't need a babysitter."

"Yes, I can see plainly that you know exactly what you're doing." There was sarcasm practically oozing out of her voice, but Nick knew she only did this because she cared. The woman was divorced, taking care of a seventeen, nearly eighteen year-old girl by herself. Of course, Nick had no worries for Dr. Williams; the woman was as stubborn and hard-headed as they came.

Sitting back down on the bed, Nick rested his free arm on top of his legs and asked, "So, Darwin is out of the woods, what now?"

"Nothing now," Dr. Williams stated plainly. "We can't necessarily work with him if he's not awake. He's been sleeping since the incident."

Nick groaned. "Man, that thing's a sleeper."

Dr. Williams chuckled. "Yes. That made Dr. Harland almost crack up. He kept saying that his son did that all the time. Everyone's celebrating the birth of a new breed of humans."

_A new breed of humans?_ Nick thought. _I hope for everyone else's sake they don't give them the same scare Darwin gave us._ Pulling himself out of posture, he stood and grabbed his jacket that hung on the bed post. "Well, I don't want to be late. After all, I'd like to be able to tell my grandkids the story of the first artificial human."

"Yes, but remember: Darwin isn't some circus act. He's a living, breathing human being, and that must be remembered at all times." She paused, then asked, "By the way, where's Andy? I tried to call him, but I had no lucky."

Nick chuckled. "Well, you know Andy. He's such a deep sleeper; not even a stampede of elephants can wake him up."

Dr. Williams snuffed. "Of course. I'll try him later. I still have some work I need to do, so you go enjoy the party that Harland and crew are throwing. You know how much I hate parties. They can be such a drag sometimes." Nick and Dr. Williams laughed together before he hung up and departed from the small room into the hallway.

The party was apparently taking place in the meeting room, the largest room in the upper part of the facility building. Once Nick stepped in, he immediately smelled booze and some other exotic scents that could only belong to cigars and the like.

Standing off in the corner, keeping a careful distance from everyone else, was Dr. Harland, nodding politely as his subordinates congratulated him for his success. Spotting Nick, Dr. Harland waved and slipped through the crowd to where the young man stood. He glanced around before placing a hand on Nick's shoulder. "I see you're refreshed today, Nicholas. That's good. But where on earth is your cousin?"

"Oh, Andy? He's sawing logs." Nick made the motion with his arm and snorted as if in deep sleep. Dr. Harland laughed loudly, throwing back his head in pure zeal. Then grasping Nick's shoulder tighter, the doctor led Nick out of the party room. Once they were away from the merry drunks, Dr. Harland spoke in a low but energetic tone, speaking almost too fast for Nick. "It's amazing, Nicholas. He's amazing. And even though he's not awake, I just know . . . I just know my theory was correct!"

"What theory?" This surprised Nick. He had heard nothing about the doctor's mysterious theory, so he focused completely on the doctor as the older man rumbled on and on how he just knew it worked! Finally, taking a breath, Dr. Harland grasped both of Nick's shoulders and gave him a light shake, unable to contain himself. "My theory about my son. You see, I also thought that the soul was just a mysterious object we scientists would never be able to understand. But then I thought, what if I copied a human being? Would their soul be copied? Our DNA determines everything about us. Our appearance, our habits, even our behavior and personality! By the time of production, our DNA already knows how tall we'll get, what kind of food we'd like to eat, what we don't like to eat, if we have a nervous habit of pacing, if we like to talk, everything! All that into tiny particles undetectable by a naked eye."

"Wait a minute," Nick said, suddenly getting what the doctor was ranting about, though he really wished he hadn't. "You're saying you can just copy a . . . a human soul?"

"Why not? We don't even know what a soul is, Nicholas. For all we know, it could just be energy that floats in our bodies like gas, then just leaves one day." Dr. Harland began to get excited again, his golden eyes sparkling with youthful passion and energy. "Just think, we could bring back the dead with this theory. I really think Darwin is my deceased son, Sirius."

Nick set his jaw. He wasn't liking how this was going. Dr. Harland was delusional. He was putting far too much trust into something that wasn't factually founded.

"Dr. Harland," Nick tried to reason, but the doctor waved his hand out, too blown away by the prospect of his theory being reality. "Can you see it, Nicholas? Imagine a world where death no longer has a say in our lives. We can create new, better bodies for ourselves! We can live forever—"

"But what if Darwin isn't your deceased son?" Nick suddenly blurted out, but he immediately regretted it. That had stopped Dr. Harland cold. He stared at Nick with such a look that it made Nick regret his words even more. Lowering his head sheepishly, Nick murmured, adding, "I-I mean, there is that possibility . . ."

The doctor sighed and clasped the young man's shoulder. "Don't worry. I understand what you mean."

Nick snapped his head up suddenly, "But, Doctor—"

Harland waved his hand dismissively, his wrinkled face softened with age. "It's okay, Nicholas. I got carried away again, I know. It's just—" he paused, taking in a sweet breath of air, "—the thought, the mere idea, gives me shivers of excitement. I want it so bad I can taste it." Slumping, Harland ran a hand through his blond hair, laughing lightly. "I mustn't get carried away by my emotions. The main reason why R-03479 is being created is for the benefit of mankind, not just myself. So, in conclusion, thank you for reminding me of that, Nicholas. Sincerely, thank you."

"Uh, you're welcome . . . I guess." Other than that, Nick was at a loss of words. Harland, though, didn't bother to notice the completely clueless look on the younger man's face. Instead, he patted his shoulder and turned, beckoning Nick to follow. Nick did, thankfully he had a reason to do something else. Together they walked down the winding hallway to where the sleeping experiment was being kept. After passing security, they stepped into a dark, neon-lighted room, gentle purple light coloring the pale walls, panting the entire room violet. Next to a wall and resting on a bed with machines are wires all around him lay Darwin covers thankfully pulled over his nude body. Harland stopped at the bed and stared sadly at Darwin.

Nick put a hand on the doctor's shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze before speaking, "Maybe your theory will come true, doctor. I mean, I really hope it will."

"As do I, Nicholas." Harland chuckled. "As do I."

Suddenly, the sliding door opened, and in walked an energetic Andy and a frustrated Dr. Williams. Williams threw up her hands, as if asking what she did to deserve this. "He's definitely related to you, Nick!" she exclaimed. "Just as stubborn and hard-headed."

"How is he?" Andy asked, ignoring the doctors. Nick shrugged. "Still dreaming."

"Speaking of Darwin, when is he scheduled to wake up?" Harland asked Williams. The female doctor shrugged her shoulders absently. "I'll have ask Dr. Davidson. He's in charge of all the medical research."

"Yes, of course." Harland nodded at the two young men. "Well, until we know, I believe we'll need to make preparations for the next phase. I'll go see Davidson about Darwin."

Andy stepped forward. "Are you sure, Dr. Harland? Me and Nick could ask for you."

Nick agreed. "Yeah, you've been working real hard lately, Doc. Why don't you get some rest?"

"And let's not forget, Arthur," Dr. Williams reminded, "you're the head researcher here. If something were to happen to you, the whole lab would be in a mess."

Harland chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no. I must insist on doing this. We were just celebrating a few moments ago, and besides," he winked, "my excitement wouldn't let me rest anyway, even if I tried."

Dr. Williams set her jaw firmly, but she relented reluctantly and nodded. Turning to Nick and Andy, she said, "Okay, you heard the man. Get outta here. Leave creator and creation be."

Nick grimaced at the familiar tone. "You sound like my mother."

Dr. Williams gave a playful smile in return. "I am a mother, remember? But seriously—"

"Yeah, yeah, we know. We're going. We're going. Andy and I know when we're not wanted." And the two departed from the lab room, slightly disappointed yet excited all the same.

"So, when do you think Darwin will wake up?" Nick asked Andy, his voice high with excitement. Andy shrugged in his opinion. "Who knows? Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tonight. Maybe right now."

"We're so close," Nick whispered with enthusiasm. Andy smiled in return. "We sure are, bro."


End file.
